ondling and purring and other
evidences of glad rejoicing over the reunion.

Warruk was none the worse for his experience except that he had lost
some of his plumpness; and he had developed such a strong dislike of
monkeys that it boded ill for the members of that tribe in the future.

At last there came the day when the rising sun vanquished the sullen
mists that had so persistently hugged the earth and all the world
breathed in the glad fragrance of the morning and revelled in the light
and warmth; and gave thanks for its deliverance from the clutches of
Siluk, the Storm-God. For, the months of rain had been full of gloom;
the days dark and cheerless, the nights chill and dreary beyond measure.
The pulse of life ran high in anticipation of the joyous days to follow.

The birds, bubbling over with the sheer joy of living raised their
voices in a swelling chorus and flashed their gorgeous colors as they
hopped and flitted through the thick foliage bedecked with myriads of
drops of water that scintillated like the rarest of gems. Their ranks
had been augmented during the period of enforced seclusion and numbers
of their young lacking the grace and brilliant hues of their elders
viewed the new world with bright eyes as they learned the manifold
lessons of life upon which their existence depended.

Monkeys howled with a tinge of cheerfulness in their hoarse voices;
squirrels whisked their plume-like tails and barked at the swaying,
sparkling leaves; tapirs wandered out into the open places; and the
sinuous, scale-covered bodies of snakes glided from their hiding-places
under the rotting leaves and prostrate tree-trunks and sought the
splashes of sunlight for a reviving bask in the warm rays.

Amidst such scenes Suma led her cub through the region of forest growth,
keeping with a fixed purpose to the direction that would take them to
the vast open country where life and living were more worth while. They
travelled in a leisurely manner either by day or by night, as suited
their fancy and rested on a slanting tree-trunk if one was conveniently
available and if not, at the foot of some giant of the jungle, or in the
seclusion of a bamboo thicket.

Food was abundant although it required almost constant effort to secure
enough to supply the two for the reason that only the smaller animals
were stalked--for Warruk's benefit--so that he might become a successful
hunter, learning his lessons step by step. But, when at last th